A Walk to the Forest
by Loona Liupka
Summary: Mulan and Ruby walk together to the forest after they left Merida s kingdom. The story focuses on what is going on in their minds and reflects on their worries and future hopes.


**Ruby and Mulan**

After Ruby and Mulan have said goodbye from Merida, they turned on to the path to forest. They hoped to lay shelter there for a night before they would decide where to go next. Not sure about their destination, they bravely started walking. Mulan, walking behind Ruby, smiled to herself. Felt quite peculiar, but positive peculiar. She was glad to have found a new friend she grew quite close to in the past two days and thankful, that Merida had put faith into her, before she would have been caught, while doing the illegal thigs she had been starting to do. Stealing. Aand for all the wrong purposes. Mulan could have been caught by the police and then… then her life would officially be over. Not literally exactly. Probably. She would not bear Aurora to see her like this. A failure. In jail. But she probably wouldn´t. She is so far away. She probably forgot her. Doesn´t think about her, doesn´t mind… But… she has been fished out of her weird, paralyzing state she has been in since Aurora broke her heart. She thought… is she happy? With her husband? Does she have the baby yet? …some strange daffodills along the road almost like in China - her mother used to… No, it has only been a few months, maybe five since she left Auroras magnificent kingdom with teary eyes and a dark cloud, fogging her mind. Couldn´t go back, needed to go the other way, anywhere anywhere… There was nobody left, she could care or live for. She saved her prince, she saved Aurora. Dear, deer Aurora… She saved both of them. And she would again. She just thought, just once, just this once her love might be requited. She blacked out and walked into the first empty house and took the gold they had. It was someone rich. She learned to steal from the rich. It seemed right, it was with Robin. She made a mistake though. She didn´t give it to the poor though. Blackout. Must have gold, must have… must HAVE, must feel the void in her heart, must have… She didn´t know what she was doing. All she wanted was to leave, to escape, further away from the place where she has lost her passion, her love, her stability. Her home. Merida picked her up for a moment, but if it wasn´t for Ruby she might have as well returned to her old new ways. Ruby sighed: "Look! We are almost at the forest." Ruby felt, that she and Mulan might not be so different. She liked her dark eyes, from the moment she has found herself, on the top of Mulan, with the original intention to eat her, but thankfully Mulan saved herself and both of them. Both of them. She was tired of eating innocent people… After her boyfriend… However. Mulan has also seen the dark of life and she was not afraid to explore it. She knew what it means to transform, to pretend and to conceal. She knew the oblivion, fear. And guilt? Guilt for not saying who she really was? But it would bring her into mortal danger… A woman. On the battlefield. Knew how to fight. She has almost been eaten by her wolf-self and now she joined her to search for other werewolves together. Brave. Wolf. Brave wolf. Auuuuuuu. It is nice to be trusted. It is also nice to be trusted by someone as charming as Mulan. Charming? Oh yes, charming. No, you can´t get a crush now! Is it a crush though? She never loved anyone since her boyfriend was… We´ll see, we´ll see. She might not even be into girls. Anyways… It turned dark. It turns dark pretty quick in the Scottish highlands. But darkness doesn´t bother though. The forest, finally reached. Not so near after all. We have to find a place to sleep. Leaves crunched. The footsteps. Crunch, crunch, shhhh, shhhh. But oh hurry! There is no hurry here. Let´s build a tent. There? Oh no, that doesn´t go there. That branch, the peeled one. Give me those. And the leaves. And my backpack. Finally. It´s ready. Crawled under the roof and sit next to each other. Hungry, like a wolf. Merida´s sandwiches. Not the regular ones. Fresh and made with the best ingredients. For royal friends. The traveller appreciates simple pleasures. After they finished Ruby poured tea and looked straight into Mulan´s eyes: "So… do you wanna tell me about who broke your heart?" Mulan took the cup and smiled quickly: "Uhm… well… it was someone I needed to protect." "And you suceeded?"Asked Ruby. "I did. I saved her." She blushed and stared into her cup. Ruby looked at her friend. She seemed so different. She never imagined Mulan blushing. "After she was safely home… I couldn´t stop thinking about her. I needed to tell her how I feel. I needed her to know that I love her." "And she rejected you?" asked Ruby with a higher pitched voice. She couldn´t imagine how anyone could ever reject Mulan. She was so strong and powerful… and so beautiful. "I couldn´t confess… she… she was… with her husband… engaged… she…" Mulan sobbed and started crying. She couldn´t remember the time she last cried, but it felt so good. All her feelings brooded onto surface. The tears reflected the light of the lamp that has been put hanging in front of the tent. "She is having… she is having a… I couldn´t tell her…!" "What is she having dear?" Ruby hugged her and squeezed her tightly. They were very close. "A baby. She is having a baby - " Mulan stopped crying, she only left out an occasional sob. Ruby, caressed her cheek. So soft and wet. So beautiful. How can someone be so beautiful while suffering? She kissed her cheek. "It will pass. I know it´s a stupid saying everyone would say… but… It will pass. I could never tell… tell my boyfriend how much I loved him. I cannot imagine the horror he must have experienced when his girlfriend chained him onto a tree and turned into a wolf. I miss him. Every day. But the heartache… it passes…" Mulan turned towards her and their lips touched. Ruby moved closer. Warm, so warm. And wet. She was a great kisser, Mulan. She was on top of her, her kiss, her… herache…the black eyes… like the wolf. Very slowly, with caution. Don´t want to rush, don´t want to… soft so soft, her shirt, goes up, her hand below, shhhhh, touch. Slow. Mulan pulled away at once. Slowly. Ruby looked confused. Mulan kissed her quickly on the cheek and turned back. The cup, keep staring at the cup. She is standing up, looking at the rainy forest, breathing out. Her hair. She didn´t say anything, but returned to staring at her cup. She laid herself down, went to sleep. Red. Red lips, red coat. Green eyes. What about Aurora, what about not. A beautiful woman. Mulan kept sitting, the hot tea still brooding.


End file.
